Minnesota Senate debates bills that would set rules for ICE entering schools, hospitals
Lawmakers at the Minnesota are set to debate legislation that supporters say would hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers accountable in the wake of Operation Metro Surge.
Legislators are discussing a package of bills that would ensure rules around ICE entering specific settings.
The collection of bills would place new limits on immigration enforcement at "sensitive locations" like courts, schools, colleges, hospitals and shelters. It would also create new legal protections and civil remedies for people affected by ICE.
Healthcare workers, teachers and advocates say these are reasonable protections for students across Minnesota.
"This is about making sure our children can grow up in environments that are rooted in stability. Learning dignity and care, not fear," said Alex Ludescher with Unidos MN. "Children deserve to be children. And right now too many are carrying the fear that no child should have to carry."
The bill would not stop criminal arrests or criminal investigations.
During the operation, doctors said families were canceling appointments and deferring critical healthcare because of the fear of immigration enforcement. Federal agents also tackled several people and deployed chemical irritants at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis.
Even if it passes, the real challenge to make it law comes in the Minnesota House, where GOP leaders have been vocally against state-issued ICE regulations. WCCO has reached out to House GOP leadership about the bills.
Last week a federal judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked immigration enforcement activity near public schools in Minnesota. The lawsuit, put forward by Fridley and Duluth public schools as well as the state's largest educator union, will go on, and immigration agents will be permitted near school grounds while the case is adjudicated.
The Minnesota session concludes this week, which means state legislatures have just days to get their priorities across the finish line.
